19 Aug 2025
Photo by Noemi Lusetti Conservation campaigners have appealed directly to King Charles to protect the historic Goodwin Sands from commercial dredging, warning that the treacherous sandbank containing over 2,000 shipwrecks could face destructive aggregate extraction despite its marine protected area status. The Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust has written to the King as head of […]
27 May 2025
Image: Brighton Marina by Being Momentx The MMO has been heavily criticised for renewing a licence for the Brighton marina to dispose of sediment, in Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone. While the marina needs to be dredged to allow vessels to access the marina, there are fears that the sediment is smothering marine […]
26 Mar 2024
Draft legislation requiring Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) on scallop dredge and large pelagic vessels in Scottish waters have been introduced in Parliament. Marine Directorate Scotland has stated that the implementation of ‘The Sea Fisheries (Remote Electronic Monitoring and Regulation of Scallop Fishing) (Scotland) Regulations 2024’ will oversee a crucial role in supporting more sustainable fisheries […]
27 Jun 2023
A decision taken by Marine Scotland last year to vary sea fishing licences for vessels using methods believed to be harmful to marine life has been branded unlawful by a judge. The Court of Session in Scotland has ruled that the Scottish Government’s current approach to licencing of scallop dredging, and bottom-trawling is “unlawful”. Lord […]
23 May 2023
A campaign group’s legal challenge to the Scottish Government over fishing techniques which it says are destroying the seabed has got under way at Scotland’s highest civil court, STV reported. Open Seas, which works to protect and improve the marine environment, claims the Government’s licensing of scallop-dredging in Scottish waters is causing significant damage to […]
20 Dec 2022
The Dogger Bank marine protected area (MPA), has experienced a 98% decrease in bottom towed fishing since a ban was introduced, according to research by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). In June 2022, a byelaw came into force that banned damaging fishing activities from four English offshore MPAs. Between June and October (2015-2019), an average […]
10 Nov 2020
Goodwin Sands was awarded marine protected area (MPA) status by the government last year due to its biodiversity and unique habitats. But despite its status and fervent opposition by local conservationists, archaeologists and historians, millions of tonnes of sand and gravel are about to be dredged from the site, as part of plans to extend […]
29 Nov 2019
Angling Trust: Dredging is not the panacea The Angling Trust is warning politicians not to repeat the mistakes of the past in their rush to make political capital out of the government’s response to the recent floods. Calls are growing to ignore the science and recommence wholesale river dredging as a quick fix. In fact, widespread dredging […]
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